The present invention relates to a portable information apparatus such as a portable computer, and more particularly to a structure for securing a display device in a housing made of synthetic resin.
A portable computer comprises a main body and a display unit. The main body has a keyboard. The display unit comprises a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a display housing. The LCD has a screen. The display housing is made of synthetic resin and contains the LCD. The housing is connected to the main body by a hinge device. It can be rotated to a closed position where it covers the keyboard from above and to an opened position where it exposes the keyboard.
The display housing is a flat rectangular box. It comprises a rectangular bottom wall and four side walls. The side walls stand from the four edges of the bottom wall, respectively. The bottom wall is slightly larger than the LCD and has four bosses at the four corners. Each boss has a screw hole. The LCD has through holes in its peripheral edge. The LCD is fitted in the display housing, with the holes axially aligned with the screw holes of the bosses. Screws pass through the holes into the screw holes, thus fastening the LCD to the bottom wall of the display housing.
Recently it is demanded in the market that portable computers be as small and light as possible. To meet the demand, the wall thickness of the main body and display housing thinner is reduced. It is strongly demanded that the LCD have a larger screen so that the user may see data more clearly. To fulfill this demand, the LCD is made as large as possible, provided that it can be fitted in the display housing. This means that the LCD occupies almost all space in the display housing.
Here arises a problem. As mentioned above, the display housing is made of synthetic resin, and its bottom wall is thin to render the portable computer as small and light as possible. The bottom wall of the housing is inevitably not rigid, and may be deformed, bending or warping, as the housing is rotated from the closed position to the opened position, or vice versa.
Insufficiently rigid, the bottom wall of the display housing may be deformed when the user rotates the housing by an angle to a specific position so that he or she may see the data clearly. If this happens, the bottom wall will exert a force on the LCD. Consequently, color shading will occur on the LCD screen or a stripe pattern will appear thereon.